Unadulterated Loathing
by SonicSweetie11
Summary: Lizzie Bennett: Struggling to breakout musician. Meet William Darcy: Conceited, egotistical, grumpy Broadway Star. Throw them together in a new musical on Broadway and what happens? Unadulterated loathing, hatred, and dare I say a hint of romance?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Lizzie Bennett: Struggling to breakout musician. Meet William Darcy: Conceited, egotistical, grumpy Broadway Star. Throw them together as in a new musical on Broadway and what happens? Unadulterated loathing, arguments, and dare I say a hint of romance?

**A/N: This is just a little thing I started out of the blue. I love Broadway, and I ADORE Moulin rouge ever since I saw the movie, and of course, I love Pride and Prejudice, so here we go! **

**I've only written one chapter, so I can't say there will be an update in the near future. But it's just for fun, so we'll see where it goes! I will still be working on Pride, Prejudice, and the Open Seas. I haven't given up on that story yet! This is a story that I'd like to work on when I'm not sailing the seas with the handsome Captain Darcy. **

**Enjoy and please tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Jane Austen! And I do not own any of the musicals that seem familiar in this fic!**

_What is this feeling, so sudden, and new?  
I felt the moment I laid eyes on you. _

_My pulse is rushing.  
My head is reeling  
My face is flushing.  
What is this feeling? Fervid as a flame, does it have a name? Yes._

_Loathing! Unadulterated loathing!  
For your face,  
your voice,  
your clothing!_

_-"What is this Feeling?" _

_Wicked Musical_

Chapter One

The morning started out like any other day. Elizabeth Bennett, Lizzie to her family, Beth to her coworkers, and Eliza to the people that especially wished to get on her nerves, Eli to some special people, smashed her alarm clock with such a force that her massive black Labrador, Rembrandt, usually able to sleep through a hurricane, opened one bleary eye to gaze at his owner questioningly.

"Go back to sleep Remy." Lizzie grumbled as she crawled out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom. She took a quick glance at her calendar out of habit and was jarred out of her sleep-induced haze as she realized what day it was.

It was the day of the audition. It was the day of the once in a lifetime opportunity to audition for the role of Satine in the new Broadway version of Moulin Rouge. It was the day that would ultimately make or break Lizzie's dream of singing on Broadway. It was the day that would decide whether or not she would win over her mother's constant nagging about her career choice.

Elizabeth Bennett was the only musical one in a family of 4 girls. Her older sister, Jane, was the angel child. The one that made straight A's all through high school, taking multiple AP classes, class president, valedictorian, and ultimately after college became a doctor. Yeah. She was one of _those _sisters, the sister that Lizzie was constantly compared to as a child. Still, Lizzie held no bitterness towards her sister's perfection; rather, she rebelled in her own way. Lizzie was the rebel child of the family; where her younger twin sisters, Lydia and Katie, gossiped and griped about their nails and Jane went on dates with her equally as smart high school boy friend, Lizzie signed herself up for voice lessons with the money she made from working at the bookstore after track practice.

Lizzie spent her high school years this way, never complaining about the work that she had to do to keep up with the lessons. Her mother, a nervous and dramatic woman, was blissfully unaware of how her second daughter spent her money. That is, until Lizzie's annoying sisters decided to tell their flighty and anxious mother that they weren't sure where Lizzie spent her Friday nights, however, they were sure that it definitely wasn't spent hanging out with people her age, namely, boys.

Her mother's mind went straight to the worst thing possible. Needless to say, Lizzie had a lot of explaining to do when she got home late Friday night. Ever since then, her mother never hesitated to express her distaste for Lizzie's talent and hobby, often eluding to the success of her bright, older sister in an attempt to push Lizzie towards what she thought was the "right direction".

Her father, Edward Bennett, just smiled and told her in secret that he would support whatever endeavor she so chooses. He would never admit it aloud, but Lizzie was definitely his favorite daughter.

And so through her hard work and the backing of her father, Lizzie made it through college majoring in music and minoring in English. (She was forced to do this by her mother, who insisted she needed a back up plan in case her music dream didn't fall through.)

Fresh out of college, Lizzie got the lead part in a small, unknown musical that was relatively successful during it's short, 4 month life. Lizzie saw this as a metaphorical "in your face" to her mother.

However, ever since then, Lizzie's had trouble getting another job. There were no musicals of interest that were looking to hire, and Lizzie was forced to take an alternate job in a bookstore. Still, the pay from her previous job was quite good, so she wasn't too worried.

It was until recently, with the economy going down the toilet and her mother at her throat to get a better job _and _a boyfriend that Lizzie's been panicking. Luckily, her professor from the university contacted her and about an - no, _the _audition. So here she was, panicking in front of the mirror in her bathroom in her two-bedroom apartment struggling to tame her bird nest hair. Lizzie gave a loud yell of frustration as she threw her hair into a messy bun after she saw the time on the clock.

"Shit!" She yelled as she tore towards her closet. She grabbed her glasses and cursed herself for not getting new contacts. She grabbed her favorite pair of skinny jeans, a tank top, her cardigan, and her bag and ran out of her apartment.

It was clearly a great start.

Her day clearly got better when she ran into someone at Starbucks, spilling his and her coffee down each other's clothes. "Shit! I'm so sorry!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"Watch where you're going next time." A gruff voice grumbled and Lizzie looked up to see the retreating figure of an obviously pissed off man.

"Have a nice day to you too." Lizzie said dryly as she stared grumpily at her own situation on the front of her tank top. She concluded reluctantly that her outfit was unsalvageable, along with the mostly empty cup of coffee in her hand.

Suddenly, her empty cup of coffee was replaced buy a fresh, new cup of hot coffee. Lizzie looked gratefully at her savior and was met with the charming face of George Wickham.

"George!" She smiled, reaching out for a hug.

"Uh uh. You aren't touching me with that coffee stained shirt." He smiled.

Lizzie, reminded of her predicament and realizing that she had a very important meeting in… 10 minutes, rushed out of the door, yelling a quick thanks to her new best friend.

Thankfully, Lizzie always kept another change of clothes in her car. Unfortunately, her clothing consisted of an old t-shirt. Lovely. Just the way to impress the important people on Broadway.

_I'm going to be late. I'm going to be late._

Lizzie slipped through the door just as they were getting ready to close it. She gave the employee a sheepish smile as she ran past and quickly apologized as she sat down.

One of the audition judges sniffed, her nose high in the air. "Nice of you to join us Miss Bennett. I can see that tardiness will be a problem for you should we decide to hire you."

Lizzie shrunk in her seat. She knew that Broadway was a hard business, but she usually wasn't on the receiving end of the barbs.

The judge, either not noticing or caring for Lizzie's embarrassment, continued. "Of course, you still have to audition, and you may not even make it through round one. So we'll worry about that on the off chance that you do get there."

Lizzie winced.

A male voice drifted from the judge's table, scolding softly. "Now Mrs. De Bough, don't be too harsh. I believe this is her first audition, and besides, your _nephew _seems to be late as well."

Lizzie smiled as she heard an indignant sniff from "Mrs. De Bough" as the judge called her and heard nothing but silence from that direction.

Suddenly, the door burst open to reveal a very disheveled and frustrated man walk into the room. Lizzie whirled around in her seat and watched the (very good looking) man stalk towards "Mrs. De Bough" and have a heated conversation with the judges.

The other judge that had stood up for her, which she soon found preferred the name "Fitz," tried to get him to calm down and seemed to motion towards Lizzie's general direction. Lizzie blushed and turned around as she realized that Fitz was probably bringing up the fact that she was late just like he had been.

She could feel the whispers and stares she got from the other people in the room. She was momentarily distracted, however, by the heated discussion that seemed to be escalating in the back at the judge's table.

The mystery man seemed to be motioning angrily with his hands as he tried to explain something. Lizzie tried not to listen in on the conversation, but the man apparently had no notion that he wasn't the only one in the room.

"… Hey! I had a reason to be late this morning! That stupid woman spilt coffee on me this morning and I had to go home and change. Are you sure this will be the only time she's late? She's obviously unprofessional and she doesn't belong in this business!"

Lizzie bristled as she heard the words spewing out of this man's mouth. She felt bad for spilling coffee on him, she really did. But did he really need to be an asshole about it?

"William! That's enough." He said softly. "You have delayed this audition enough. Sure, she was late, but who's the one having a tantrum about it? Go sit down. I have half a mind to tell you to leave. You're my friend and also the lead so I respect that you have a say in who place Satine, but in the end it's my decision. I'm the director. So sit down and _try _to be unbias."

Lizzie internally groaned. Of course he would be the lead _and _a judge. She watched as the director walked up to the stage while Lizzie argued with herself on whether or not it was worth even auditioning when _2 _out of the 3 judges already hated her.

"Hi everyone!" The director smiled broadly as he looked around. "I'm Fitz, the director. Thank you all for coming to audition for Satine. Our previous pick for Satine, Miss Caroline Bingley is unable to do her job (at which Mrs. De Bough snorted from the back of the room), so I want to thank you all again for attending this last minute audition. I hope you know that the job entails that right after the audition you must be at rehearsal the next day. We've postponed rehearsal enough as it is. So now, without further delay, your judges Mrs De Bough and William Darcy, who will be playing Christian! They will be helping me pick the next Satine. Your task is to pick any of the songs from Moulin Rouge and sing it in front of us. Mister Darcy will be here if any of you choose a duet. (At this Mister Darcy cringed.) That is all so good luck!" As Fitz walked off, he looked at Lizzie and gave her a reassuring smile. Lizzie sighed and relaxed a little, knowing that at least the director didn't hate her.

There were quite a few hopefuls at the audition. Lizzie was last, seeing as she showed up last to the audition, so she sat there psyching herself out as more and more girls went up and sang. It surprised her how many girls picked _Sparkling Diamonds _as their audition song. That song was actually her least favorite, and it was possibly the shallowest song in the production. The girls that chose this song proceeded to dance along provocatively, embodying Satine at the Moulin Rouge. Lizzie's mind was running around in circles as no one else picked her song, _One Day I'll Fly Away_.

_What if it's the worst song to pick? _

She watched as other girls chose the duet and circled around the singing Darcy.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Lizzie was called up. As she walked slowly up onto the stage, ignoring the glares from the two judges and sneers from the other girls, she realized why she was here. She loved singing, and she loved music, and no matter what, she was going to try her best.

"My name is Elizabeth Bennett" Lizzie winced at how shaky her voice sounded at first. "And I'm going to sing _One Day I'll Fly Away_."

_I follow the night_  
_Can't stand the light_  
_When will I begin_  
_To live again?_

Lizzie smiled as she remembered how this song had touched her when she first heard it. It was without a doubt the shortest song, but she felt it spoke more than most of them.

_One day I'll fly away  
Leave all this to yesterday  
What more could your Love do for me?  
When will Love be through with me?_

_Why live life from dream to dream?  
And dread the day when dreaming ends_

_One day I'll fly away  
Leave all this to yesterday  
Why live life from dream to dream?  
And dread the day when dreaming ends_

_One day I'll fly away  
Fly, fly away_

Lizzie slowly opened her eyes as the last notes sounded at the end of the song. She heard a few scattered applauses from the few nice girls in the audition room. She looked up at the judges, one of them was scowling, one of them wasn't even paying attention, but Fitz was smiling. That was enough to reassure Lizzie that this audition wasn't a total waste, even if she didn't get the part. She had started singing to make people smile, and she had done just that today. She smiled and nodded before walking off stage.

"Thank you all for coming today." Fitz said as he stood up from the table. "We'll post the call backs list tomorrow outside on the bulletin board. Have a nice day."

Lizzie gathered her things and pushed her the door out of the theatre. She smiled up at the sky as she breathed in the fresh, New York air, so different from the stuffy audition room she was in.

This was just the push she needed. No matter what happened, she would continue to pursue her dream.

She would try to defy all odds, even ones by the name of William Darcy.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

_Call Backs:_

_1. –_

_2. –_

_3. Elizabeth Bennett_

_4. –_

_5. –_

Lizzie screamed. She really tried not to, but she couldn't help it. She got called back! There was still hope after all! There was still a chance that she wouldn't get the part, but her chances were significantly higher now.

She did a little happy dance, despite that fact she was in public and that she had previously not too long ago got the attention of everyone within a mile radius with her loud and high pitch scream.

She couldn't help that goofy grin that was on her face as she walked back to her car.

The goofy grin wouldn't go away as she drove back home.

The grin got bigger as she told her roommate, Charlotte Lucas, the great news. The screamed and she promised to go out to celebrate with Charlotte later that night.

It still remained permanently etched onto her face as she brought Rembrandt out for a walk.

The grin disappeared quickly as she realized what she had gotten herself into when she agreed to go out and "celebrate" with Charlotte. She was forced into a tight fitting dress and marched into _Sunset_, the hottest new club in town.

Lizzie rolled her eyes as she watched Charlotte go off with some nameless guy. She cringed as some sleazy guy tried to talk to her. A Chris? Or was it Conner? Not it was Collin. Definitely Collin. Collin had latched himself onto her pretty much as soon as got her drink.

She sighed and rolled her eyes for what seemed like the 5th time during their 10 minute (although it seemed like well over an hour) long conversation about Collin's job. He made Accounting seem like the most exciting of all the exciting jobs in the world. But seriously, how many "funny" stories would an accountant have?

She looked around the club, looking for nothing in particular, when she looked into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. As she unfocused on those eyes and looked at the blue eyed man, she scowled. It belonged to the man that she hated more than Collin at the moment, William Darcy.

"Excuse me Collin, but I just realized that I have somewhere to be. Excuse me." She said curtly as she got up and walked out of the club.

A voice stopped her as she was about to call a cab.

"Leaving so early?"

Lizzie closed her eyes. _Don't punch him. Don't kick him in the balls. Don't punch him._ Her mantra played over and over in her head.

"What's it to you?" She asked.

"Well I didn't think you'd be the type to leave party so early." He said smoothly.

Lizzie's eyes darted to Darcy. "And what type do you think I am? The non-stop party girl? The one who moved to the big city so all I could do is party and drink all night, is that right?"

"That's not what I meant." Darcy's eyes narrowed. "Now you're just putting words in my mouth."

"Oh that's right. I forgot. It seems I'm the unprofessional type. The stupid one that purposely spills coffee on poor unsuspecting men and always shows up late and obviously doesn't belong in the Broadway business." Lizzie spat out and turned around and quickly called a cab. She was in the cab before Darcy could even say anything.

_Stupid William Darcy and his stupid blue eyes and stupid ego. _Lizzie thought angrily as she wiped a tear from her face.

She was going to show him.

**A/N: Review review review! Please and thank you! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry gaiz. My old computer broke, and I'm a horrible procrastinator, which is why this chapter is super late. Thank you for staying with me, those of you that are still here. **

**This chapter is a bit a filler. Nothing too exciting, not too much Darcy, but next chapter will definitely be Darcy filled. So look forward to that!**

**Once again, thanks so much for reading! **

**Disclaimer: Jane Austen owns all the characters you recognize. **

Last time on Unadulterated Loathing:

_"Leaving so early?"_

_Lizzie closed her eyes.__Don't punch him. Don't kick him in the balls. Don't punch him.__Her mantra played over and over in her head._

_"What's it to you?" She asked._

_"Well I didn't think you'd be the type to leave party so early." He said smoothly._

_Lizzie's eyes darted to Darcy. "And what type do you think I am? The non-stop party girl? The one who moved to the big city so all I could do is party and drink all night, is that right?"_

_"That's not what I meant." Darcy's eyes narrowed. "Now you're just putting words in my mouth."_

_"Oh that's right. I forgot. It seems I'm the unprofessional type. The stupid one that purposely spills coffee on poor unsuspecting men and always shows up late and obviously doesn't belong in the Broadway business." Lizzie spat out and turned around and quickly called a cab. She was in the cab before Darcy could even say anything._

_Stupid William Darcy and his stupid blue eyes and stupid ego.__Lizzie thought angrily as she wiped a tear from her face._

_She was going to show him._

0-0-0-0-0

The shrill ringing of her phone woke Lizzie up suddenly the next morning. She groaned, face still buried in her pillow, reaching blindly towards her nightstand until her fingers grasped the familiar old brick that was her phone. She had had the phone for years, dropping it in the pool, on the cement, down the stairs, and yet even through all the accidents, the phone was still working, the screen was only slightly scratched, and due to this phone's magic ability to survive, Lizzie refused to trade it in for the new, shiny, and extremely breakable iPhone.

She squinted at the bright screen, trying to push away the confusion that was fogging up her brain as she tried to remember how to read. It was still dark outside, and Lizzie wondered why on earth anyone would be up this early.

_Calling: _

_Studio 54, Broadway _

Lizzie's eyes immediately flew open as she realized what the call was for. She immediately pressed the shining green button and answered, wincing at how her voice sounded.

"Miss Bennett? This is Mrs. De Bough . I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Lizzie rolled her eyes as she heard the sarcasm in the nasty judge's voice. _Duh. It's 6 AM in the morning on a Saturday. Any normal person would be sleeping. _

"Um. Good morning Mrs. De Bough." Lizzie said, choosing to ignore her comment.

"That is yet to be seen." _Gee someone has a pole stuck up her ass. I can definitely see the relation between Darcy and the she-devil. _"I am just calling to tell you that Fitz forgot to put up the schedule for the call-backs and that your audition is Tuesday at 2:30 PM. You are to sing any Broadway song you like that helps demonstrate your versatility from any musical. I suggest it be a different style from your previous audition piece."

"Alright, thank you Mrs. De Bough." Lizzie said as pleasantly as she could, despite the fact that she could hear the disdain in Mrs. De Bough's voice as she told her the assignment. It was obvious Mrs. De Bough was not one of her supporters.

"Oh and Miss Bennett? Do try to be on time." _Click. _

"What a bitch!" Lizzie exclaimed as she buried her face back into her pillow. She knew that she had to have a perfect audition. And she knew just which song she was going to pick.

0-0-0-0-0

"Mehhh." Lizzie groaned as her phone sounded again 4 hours later. She usually slept in till about 1 in the afternoon on Sundays, and she was about one more phone call away from chucking her phone at the wall.

"Herro." She muttered into the phone, this time not bothering to check the Caller ID.

"Elizabeth Bennett!" The shrill voice of her mother made forced Lizzie to hold her phone away from her ear. Remy lifted up his big head, snorted at Lizzie as if he knew that it was her nightmare of a mother calling, and went back to sleep. _Lazy dog. _

"Hello mother." She drawled. It was her mother's weekly phone call lecture about how she was just going through life, wasting her youth.

"I haven't heard from you in weeks! What is the meaning of this?"

"You called me last Sunday mother."

"Have you gotten a boyfriend yet?"

"Gee mother, good morning to you too. How have you been? I've been good, thank you. "Lizzie said sarcastically.

"Don't give me sass." Her mother said shortly. "Are you still doing that silly singing thing?"

"Yes mother." Lizzie said while picking at her nails. While she used to try to fight with her mother's opinions on her "silly singing thing" as she so eloquently put it, she just ignored it now. Lizzie was quite used to how her mother felt about her career choice, and no amount of shouting was going to change it.

Her mother sniffed. "Janie saved a life yesterday at the hospital."

"Cool mother." Lizzie drawled out, not even listening.

"Janie is so successful right now. I still can't believe that she and that rich doctor broke up. They were perfect for each other."

"He was an arrogant, self-righteous asshole." _Kind of like Darcy_.

"Well he was still successful." Her mother sniffed again, as if Lizzie had insulted her.

"Janie told me you have some kind of audition?" Her mother asked disinterestedly.

"It's for the new musical, _Moulin Rouge_."

"Does it pay well?"

"Mother! I still haven't gotten the part yet! Much less discussed the pay."

"Well don't get short with me Elizabeth Rose Bennett! I am merely looking out for you. You don't have a man that can help support you, and if this singing thing doesn't work out, you will forever be working at that dinky little bookstore."

"Thank you for your support mother." She muttered. "What's that? Oh I have a call coming in. It's very important. I have to go. Bye mom." Lizzie said suddenly as she tried to get off the phone. Her mom's protests were in vain when Lizzie heard her phone go silent.

_That was worse than normal. _

Lizzie grabbed her fluffy pillow and screamed into it. She grabbed her phone and sent a quick text to her sister, notifying her of the horrid whirlwind that was their mother.

_Mother called. Told me to get a boyfriend and a better job. Surprise! –L_

Her phone chirped a few minutes later.

_That bad? –J_

_You have no idea. –L_

_Coffee? –J_

_Mahhh I love coffeeeee. –L_

_Meet you in 10. Please don't come in your Hello Kitty PJs this time. –J_

_But they're so comfortable! You're secretly jealous of them, don't lie. – L_

_No. -J_

Lizzie smiled. Lizzie's extreme sarcasm was definitely rubbing off on Jane. Lizzie leaped out of bed, threw on a pair of old, ratty jeans and a baggy shirt, woke the grumpy Remy up from his nap, grabbed his leash and her wallet. Remy immediately perked up as Lizzie clasped the leash onto his collar, his tail wagging a million times per minute as he started to jump excited around Lizzie.

"Calm down you silly mutt." Lizzie laughed as Remy just barked in response. She left her apartment with her large, black lab in tow as she made her way to the café on the corner of her street. This café could make a mean cup of Joe, and Lizzie blamed it for her extreme and possibly unhealthy addiction to coffee and all things caffeinated.

After dragging a curious Remy towards, who attempted to sniff the familiar surroundings as if everything was new to him, she finally made it to _Café Meryton_. She looked around at the tables outside and finally spotted the familiar golden head of her sister. She sank down into the seat where a cup of coffee and a muffin was already waiting for her and threw Jane a grateful smile before gulping down her coffee.

"AH HOT!" She yelled while sticking her tongue out to try to cool out with the cold morning air.

"You do this every time Lizzie. Do I really need to remind you to take small sips?" Jane asked, laughing as she pet Remy, who was lapping up the attention.

Lizzie pouted like a scolded child as she grabbed her coffee and took smaller sips as instructed.

"So are you excited about the audition?" Jane asked after letting Lizzie take a couple more sips of her coffee. She knew better than to talk before Lizzie had had her caffeine fix. Lizzie usually didn't make much sense otherwise.

Lizzie nodded. "I am. I really feel like this could be it Jane! I mean, I am one of 5 girls that got called back, so that has to mean something right? Unfortunately, the lead and his aunt both hate me, so I'm going to have to blow them out of the water. "

"You can do it Lizzie. You're an amazing singer, and they have to be deaf to not give you that part."

"You're my sister; you're under obligation to say that." Lizzie smiled.

"I'm not saying it just because you're my sister!"

"Jane, you're the nicest person ever. You even smiled and watched when Katie and Lydia went through their Miley Cyrus teeny bopper phase and wanted to become Disney Channel pop stars."

Jane laughed. "I remember that. Dad looked like he was going to go insane."

"And he would even give them money to go shopping just so they would leave the house!" Lizzie chuckled. "Anyways, what's going on with you?" Lizzie was sad that she never really got to see her sister much outside of their weekly coffee outings. With Jane's crazy schedule as a doctor, she never had much free time.

"I met someone." Jane muttered through her coffee cup.

"WHAT?" Lizzie squealed, drawing the attention of the surrounding people. Jane winced. "Who? What? When? How?" Lizzie stuttered.

"His name is Charlie." She smiled softly. "I met him in the hospital. He broke his arm in two places."

"And?" Lizzie baited, leaning towards Jane.

"He was the most adorable thing ever. We gave him some pain medication and throughout the whole thing, he was telling me how pretty I looked and he asked me on a date. I told him it was the drugs speaking, and he said that he would come back when he wasn't so drugged up and ask me out properly, under better circumstances. Of course I only smiled and nodded. I mean, people say weird things when they are drugged up with pain medication."

Jane had a faraway, dreamy look on her face. Lizzie smiled as she realized that her sister was completely smitten with this Charlie character. Remy trotted over and nudged Lizzie's hand when he realized Jane was distracted and wasn't going to pet him. Lizzie absentmindedly pet her puppy after she threw a piece of her muffin at him.

"The next day, one of the nurses came to get me from the doctor's lounge while I was on break and told me there was someone asking for me. I went over to the nurse's station and there he stood, his arm still in the sling and his other hand holding some flowers. He got me daises! My favorite! And I never told him that they were my favorite flower! And so one thing led to another and we went out for coffee on my break and so yeah." Jane smiled.

"I'm so happy for you!" Lizzie squealed. "I have to meet this guy so I can make sure he's good enough. And so that I can tell him that I will happily kick his ass if he breaks your heart."

"Lizzie!" Jane exclaimed.

"What? It's true! I will not hesitate to do so!"

"Well are you free tomorrow?"

"Am I free tomorrow? Why?" Lizzie asked, confused.

"Well the reason why I had to meet you today was because he asked me on a date, and since tomorrow is my day off, we're planning on going to that trendy new restaurant. He said he and his friend usually hang out on Mondays, but then I suggested that he bring his friend along, and i-kind-of-volunteered-you-for-a-double-date." Jane rushed out the last part of sentence.

"You what?" Lizzie yelled, once again drawing the attention of those surrounding them.

"Lizzie, please? For me?" Jane asked, her blue eyes wide as she tried to imitate Remy's puppy face.

"No."

"Lizzie?"

"No."

"Lizzie? Please!"

"No."

"Please! Please! Please!"

_The next day. _

"So tell me how I got dragged into this." Lizzie drawled as she sat next to her sister in the cab.

"I still can't believe that you decided to wear a Broadway tee to a date." Jane sighed.

"What? It's the _Wicked_ shirt that I bought when the original cast was still performing! Everybody loves _Wicked_!"

Jane rolled her eyes and laughed at her sister, knowing that nothing could change her opinion.

The cab stopped in front of some trendy French restaurant that Lizzie had no hope of knowing how to pronounce. A wide smile immediately appeared on Jane's face as she spotted a tall man with a mop of red hair. Next to him stood another man, slightly taller than him with brown hair, slouched against the brick. Lizzie gasped as the two made their way over to them. _Fuck my life it was Darcy_.

Lizzie looked up towards the night sky. _God, why do you hate me? _The redhead reached them and gave Jane a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. Lizzie would've thought it was extremely cute if it wasn't for the fact that she wished that she could be struck by lightning right at that moment.

"Hi, you must be Lizzie. I'm Charlie." The redhead smiled good-naturedly.

Lizzie smiled, trying to quell the awkwardness as she felt Darcy's eyes boring into her. "Nice to meet you. Jane has told me so much about you."

"Only good things I hope." He smiled, his eyes crinkling on the sides. Lizzie decided that she liked this guy already. "This is my best friend, Will." Charlie said, gesturing towards his friend. Lizzie could practically feel the irritation coming off of him in waves.

"Good to see you again Darcy." She said pleasantly, trying to keep the disdain out of her voice.

"You guys know each other?" Charlie asked, puzzled.

"She's auditioning for the lead for the musical, Charles." He muttered, still looking anywhere but at Lizzie.

"Yes, we also ran into each other Starbucks before my audition." Lizzie drawled.

Jane looked confused as she looked from Lizzie to Darcy, as if trying to figure out what was going on between the two.

"Well that's great! I'm glad Will has a friend to talk to then. You should have seen him this yesterday when I told him he was coming with me. He was all 'I hate it when you drag me into these things Charles.' Mr. Grumpy here would rather sit at home and do nothing." _Hmm well surprise, surprise. _

Lizzie merely nodded. She was sure that Darcy was in an even fouler mood now knowing that she was his "date" for the evening.

"Well let's go eat, shall we? I'm starving." Charlie said, completely unaware of the tense situation between the two.

Lizzie rolled her eyes at the blonde-haired bimbo waitress who was flaunting her assets as she moved around the table getting drink orders.

"I'll have a rum and coke, thanks." She said shortly when the waitress reluctantly tore her eyes away from the scowling Darcy. She huffed, and Lizzie honestly did not care if she thought she was a bitch.

Darcy raised an eyebrow at her.

"What? If I have to spend all night watching her hang onto you, and those two making goo-goo eyes at each other", Lizzie said as she gestured towards the unaware couple at the table that was lost in their own world, "then I certainly need some alcohol in my system to get me through the evening."

His lips twitched ever so slightly. Lizzie almost thought she was seeing things. She didn't believe that Darcy was capable of any emotion other than anger and frustration.

_Queue the awkward silence_.

The waitress finally came with the drinks; (to Lizzie's delight) setting down everybody's first before giving Darcy's his last, accompanied with a flirtatious wink.

"Are you guys ready to order?" She asked, batting her eyelashes at Darcy. Instead of looking alluring and flirtatious, Lizzie just thought she looked like she had something in her eye.

The table went quiet. _Shoot I said that aloud didn't I? Oh well, too late to take it back now._

The silence was broken by a chuckle that came from Darcy. "I'll have the lamb." He said, still laughing slightly. The waitress, still rubbing her two brain cells together as she tried to figure out the situation looked dumbly at Darcy, before snapping out of it and scribbling his order. After getting everyone else's orders except for Lizzie's, she turned and went towards the kitchen.

"Alright, that's cool. I didn't want to eat anyways." Lizzie deadpanned. "Perhaps that's her way of telling me that I need to lose weight?" She asked as she turned towards Jane.

"Excuse me." Darcy said as he stood up abruptly and walked towards the waitress. "I need to speak to your manager about this rude behavior." Her eyes widened and Lizzie saw the panic in her eyes. Lizzie stood up and made her way quickly over to the two, putting her hand on Darcy's chest to signal him to calm down. For some reason, she felt bad for the girl at that moment. She was sure that she probably needed this job, and even though she had been a bitch ever since the beginning, she didn't want her to lose her job because of her. Lizzie understood what it felt like to not have ends meet, and from the looks of her caked on make-up, especially under her eyes, she could tell that this waitress probably worked more than one job.

"It's fine, Darcy." Lizzie said softly. "I wasn't sure what to order anyways. Do you have any suggestions?" She asked, looking at the waitress.

"The salmon is good tonight." She muttered softly.

"That sounds great! Thanks! I'll try the salmon." Lizzie smiled encouragingly as she grabbed onto Darcy's elbow and steered him back towards the table. Once back at the table, she grabbed her drink and gulped it down. She sighed. This was going to be a long night.

"Why did you stop me?" Darcy asked as his blue eyes locked with Lizzie's. She looked into his bright blue orbs, only seeing the curiosity swimming in his eyes.

"Do you know how it feels like to have two jobs Darcy?" She asked wistfully. "She had a #1 Mommy necklace on. She probably had a child at home, waiting for her, while she worked all day with two jobs to try to make enough money to take care of her kid. I couldn't let her lose her job, even if she was being a bit of a bitch."

She looked over at Darcy, who was just full out staring at her now. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

Darcy blinked and cleared his throat. "No." He muttered. Luckily, the food came a few moments later, effectively taking away the need for small take as they all dug into their dishes.

Lizzie groaned as she took her first bite of the salmon.

"Lizzie!" Jane scolded.

"I'm sorry Jane. You know how I love my food." She muttered with a mouth full of food. She saw Darcy look at her from the corner of her eye, probably with a look of disgust on his face. It's not like she cared what he thought of her anyways.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!"

"Yes mother." Lizzie said, swallowing the mouthful of salmon and mashed potatoes.

"Sorry. Lizzie likes to eat like every meal is the last meal she will ever have."

Lizzie glared playfully at her sister and was about to say something but was silenced at the look that her sister gave her that made her think twice about talking with her mouth full again.

After swallowing her bite, Lizzie said, "I just really like food, okay?"

"I completely understand Lizzie." Charlie said. "My name is Charles Bingley, and I am an addict."

Lizzie snorted into her food, causing Darcy's head to snap towards Lizzie alarmingly. "I like this guy Janie. He's a keeper."

Jane blushed, and all talks of Lizzie's less than desirable eating habits disappeared as the two escaped into their own world once again, leaving Lizzie to deal with Darcy by herself.

"What made you go into singing?" He asked suddenly after a few minutes of silence.

"What made _you _go into singing?" She asked.

Darcy's face softened as he thought about her question. "Exactly." She nodded at him. He cleared his throat. "What… uh… song are you planning singing for your call-back?"

"Not telling! But I can tell you that it's from Wicked." Lizzie said, pointing proudly at her shirt. "Favorite musical of all time. Without a doubt. Hands down."

"Not Phantom of the Opera?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? You assume that I'm one of those girls that swoon at the prospect of romances and the mysteriousness that makes the Phantom like, so freaking, like hot? Definitely not. Give me a crazy old wizard, flying monkeys, and green people any day." She bristled at his comment. It was obvious that Darcy was very judgmental. For a moment there she thought that she could actually be friends with him, but then he reminded her of his comment he had made about her unprofessionalism and her walls immediately came back up.

"That's not – " Darcy said.

"Lizzie, Will. It's time to go" Charlie interrupted. As he handed the waitress the bill.

"You paid for me? You didn't have to pay for me!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"I took care of it." Charlie smiled.

Lizzie huffed. "Fine but I pay for the tip." Lizzie said before digging into her purse and pulling out a $20 and leaving it on the table as tip, ignoring the surprised look on Darcy's face as she set down the bill.

The four walked out of the restaurant, Jane and Charlie laughing about something together while Lizzie and Darcy hung back awkwardly silent. Finally, Charles kissed Jane goodnight and they parted ways.

Lizzie bid goodbye to Charlie, muttered a "see you tomorrow" to Darcy, only receiving a nod in reply, and got into the cab with her sister.

"You _so_ owe me Janie."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Wow! Thanks for all the reviews! I'm ecstatic by the positive feedback I've gotten! So half of this chapter is from the POV of Darcy. I had some trouble on deciding how I wanted to portray him, so I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit iffy.

Once again, thanks for reading, and please review and tell me what you think!

**Disclaimer: **

**Things I own: **

**A new-ish phone because my old one decided it couldn't take the constant abuse I put it through. (Dropping it on concrete, etc.)**

**A copy of the P&P DVD which I LOVE because Darcy is smokin hot in it. Especially when he smiles. *fans myself***

**Things I do not own:**

**Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Sad. **

_**Last Time on Unadulterated Loathing:**_

_"You paid for me? You didn't have to pay for me!" Lizzie exclaimed._

_"I took care of it." Charlie smiled._

_Lizzie huffed. "Fine but I pay for the tip." Lizzie said before digging into her purse and pulling out a $20 and leaving it on the table as tip, ignoring the surprised look on Darcy's face as she set down the bill._

_The four walked out of the restaurant, Jane and Charlie laughing about something together while Lizzie and Darcy hung back awkwardly silent. Finally, Charles kissed Jane goodnight and they parted ways._

_Lizzie bid goodbye to Charlie, muttered a "see you tomorrow" to Darcy, only receiving a nod in reply, and got into the cab with her sister._

_"You__so__owe me Janie."_

**Chapter 3**

"No Caroline, for the last time, I will _not _speak to Fitz about putting you back on as Satine." Will yelled into the phone while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"_But William, you _know _that it was just a small misunderstanding." _She whined.

"Yes, if you call getting caught on the lap of one of New York's biggest players a _small _misunderstanding. What do you want me to believe? That you _accidentally _fell onto his crotch with your clothes off?"

"Of course William darling. I knew you'd understand."

_She has got to be the dumbest person I have ever met. _Will thought.

"Look Caroline, I know you're Charlie's sister, but this is where I have to draw the line on favors. I refuse to talk to Fitz about letting you back, because frankly, your behavior is unacceptable. I will not tolerate being paired up with someone who will only bring a bad name to the musical. So if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the audition where they are finding a replacement for _you_." Will said tersely before hanging up.

Will sighed as he massaged his temples, his head already pounding from the unpleasant conversation he was forced to have with his best friend's sister. Looks aside, there seemed to be no resemblance between the siblings, in which Will was extremely thankful for, otherwise he would have to look for a new best friend.

With his day getting off to a fantastic start, he glanced at the clock on his mantle. He sighed gratefully as he realized that the horrific phone call hadn't taken as long as he thought it had and he would still have time to get a gigantic cup of coffee (he figured he needed it today, seeing as he would be listening to god knows how many women vie for the now vacant spot of Satine). Grabbing his coat and wallet, he trudged out the door of his apartment, dreaming of warm, pools of coffee.

The bell dinged as Will strolled in through the door of Starbucks. He was sure he looked like a fright with the scowl on his face from the headache that had intensified by the many honks of angry cab drivers and the hustle and bustle that was New York City. The overly enthusiastic and flirtatious barista didn't help to ease his headache and ill mood as he rattled off his order and waited impatiently for his cup of heaven to be made. Will snatched it up quickly when it was put on the counter, took a huge sip of it, despite the scalding hot temperature, and turned to walk towards the door.

"Oof!" Will felt a scalding body collide with him as soon as he turned around. Only upon further inspection did he realize that the uncomfortable temperature was due to the hot coffee that he had managed to spill on his shirt after running into said body. He looked down, for the person was quite short, and saw coffee brown eyes behind thick rimmed glasses on a heart shaped face, with equally coffee-colored hair in an extremely messy bun (It seemed that Will could only think of coffee this morning). Completely shocked, it took him a while to register that the coffee on his body was burning him, and he needed to go home and change if he had any hope of getting to the audition on time.

Angry once again, he muttered a gruff "Watch where you're going next time," before stalking out, gulping the remainder of his coffee that had not gotten on his shirt.

Cursing under his breath, he honked angrily at the other cars as he wove through the congested streets after getting back to his apartment and changing. After many extremely close almost accidents and muttered curse words, Will managed to get to the theatre only… 15 minutes late. His snooty aunt gave him a hard time (as per usual), and some heated words were exchanged, some that were directed towards the girl that he had seen upon entering the theatre, her cheeks still red from the snide comments that were no doubt from his charming aunt. He felt pity for the girl. He was sure that this girl was about to run for the hills, knowing that his ghastly aunt was part of the production.

As girl after girl got up to audition for Satine, many that were duets, much to Will's contempt, Will was sure that they were never going to find Satine. Sure, some of the girls had great vocal clarity and were trained singers or what not, but none of them had the passion. Will didn't even want to think about the women that were there just because they thought that this would be their quick road to fame. They were without a doubt, awful.

Finally, there was only one girl left. Will sighed in relief. He looked over at Fitz, who had somehow stayed enthusiastic throughout the whole audition, sit up straighter and lighten up as the next girl stepped on stage. Curious, Will lazily swung his head in the direction of the stage, only to find the coffee girl. Her voice shook as she introduced herself. Clearly she had confidence issues. Will raised an eyebrow towards Fitz, as if questioning his sanity for his interest in this girl.

_What was so special about her? She was clearly very clumsy, and therefore would be a walking hazard for the rest of the crew during rehearsals and the shows, and she looks like she won't be anything special. _

Will's thoughts were quickly cut off when the girl dressed in the most casual clothes out of all of the girls in the auditorium, composed of an old concert tee, old jeans, and her hair in a messy bun, opened her mouth to sing.

She was Satine.

Without a doubt.

Even Will, with his high expectations and nasty habit of letting first impressions guide him came to the quick conclusion that this – he glanced down at the paper in front of him – Elizabeth Bennett, was going to be next time him as the new lead of the next hit musical, _Moulin Rouge_.

So when he saw her at the club that he had been dragged to, he knew that he had to apologize for his rudeness. Surely it would be better for the both of them, along with the rest of the cast, that if she were picked as Satine they wouldn't despise each other.

Her choice in clothing was completely different from what he had seen earlier that day at the audition. Gone were the comfortable clothes. In their place were a pair of death heels and a mini-dress, although nowhere near as short as what Caroline wore all the time, left almost nothing to the imagination. Her hair fell in soft curls on her shoulders. She was quite pretty, he conceded.

Due to Will's observations, he almost missed her storming out the door in her extremely high heels, this morning's clumsiness apparently completely forgotten.

"Leaving so soon?" He asked as he quickly caught up to her.

"What's it to you?" She growled out.

"Well I didn't think you'd be the type to leave party so early."

Immediately, he saw the walls go up around her as her posture turned defensive. "And what type do you think I am? The non-stop party girl? The one who moved to the big city so all I could do is party and drink all night, is that right?"

"That's not what I meant." Darcy's eyes narrowed. "Now you're just putting words in my mouth."

"Oh that's right. I forgot. It seems I'm the unprofessional type. The stupid one that purposely spills coffee on poor unsuspecting men and always shows up late and obviously doesn't belong in the Broadway business."

_Well damn. She heard me. _

Will paced around his apartment as he thought of how he was going to get on the good side of one Elizabeth Bennett. He was sure that after she had heard his comment, paired with the misunderstanding they had at the bar, she was not his biggest fan at the moment. _Why did he even care about her opinion? _

She intrigued him.

She was so different from the shy girl that he had seen at the audition before she sang, and he was sure that the fierce woman he saw singing in front of everybody and the one he had met at the bar was who she really was.

And her eyes! At first glance they were normal, boring, brown eyes. But upon further investigation, they were so…

_I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world! _

Will's head snapped to his phone quickly.

"CHARLIE!" He yelled into the phone as he picked it up, knowing exactly who it was due to the completely embarrassing ringtone that he had changed without Will's knowledge.

"Oh hey Will. What's got your panties in a twist?" He joked good-naturedly.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you are not allowed to change my ringtone on my phone?"

Charlie snickered. "I'll stop doing it when you stop having such a funny reaction to it."

"What do you want?" Will asked gruffly.

"Well…" Charlie trailed off. "You see, there's this _thing_."

"Thing?" Will asked, not at all interested in what _thing _Charlie wanted to drag him to next.

"Well more like a date."

"No."

"Please Will?" He pleaded.

"Charlie, you sound like a 10 year old boy rather than a 26 year old."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"I'm busy."

"You are not going to set me up again with another bimbo that can't carry out a decent conversation."

"Please Will?"

"Nope."

"I'll buy you coffee for the rest of the month."

"… Deal."

Little did Will know that he had just agreed to go on a date with Elizabeth Bennett, the one that had been plaguing his mind for the past couple of days. And once again, Will managed to make himself seem like a complete ass. It seemed like Elizabeth Bennett always brought out the worst in him, and it frustrated him to no end. He had found that there was so much more to Miss Bennett than what meets the eye and she didn't deserve any of the angry and asshole-like comments that he threw at her. She was witty, funny, and incredibly generous. And William Darcy, the one who almost never got over first impressions, was forced to reevaluate his impression of one Elizabeth Bennett. For she was unlike any woman he had ever met before.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"He was quite nice; I don't know what you're talking about."

"Jane, you do remember what he said about me at the audition, don't you? He'll probably be the reason why I'm not going to get the part!"

"Don't be silly, Lizzie. Charlie says he's a good person, and very loyal. He would never hurt his friends."

"Don't you see? I'm not his friend! I'm just some stupid girl that had the unfortunate luck to run straight into him at Starbucks and spill coffee on him and now is the victim to a stupid grudge because apparently he hates clumsy girls that show up late and go drink at bars." Lizzie ranted.

"Now you're stretching it. Besides, I think he was quite taken by you."

"Really?" Lizzie deadpanned. "What part of the dinner gave that away? The part when he was glaring at me or the part when he practically talked in monosyllables to me? Yea, that's a really good way to show affection, ignore them and look at them like you hate them."

Jane rolled her eyes at her ridiculous sister.

"And it's just like him, the think that he can treat anyone the way he wants and think that he can get away with it because he is ridiculously good looking."

Jane smirked as she listened to her sister's word vomit. No verbal filter, that one.

"Like, really good looking. But that's not the point. The point is he's an ass. And I will never be attracted to him." Lizzie nodded to herself. "But that's enough about stupid Darcy. Sooo…" She teased, staring at Jane. "How's Charlie?"

Lizzie laughed at the blush that rushed into Jane's cheeks.

_Oh yeah, he's a keeper. _

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"2:29. Cutting it a little close, are we Miss Bennett?" Mrs. De Bough's voice rang out through the theatre as soon as Lizzie walked through the door.

Lizzie plastered a smile on her face, but she was quite sure it looked like a grimace. It seemed like the world was against her when she got up that morning, and by the time 12:00 rolled around, she was ready to call it a day. Unfortunately, the audition-that-was-of-the-utmost-importance-and-could-possibly-change-her-life was today, and so curling up into a ball and sleeping was not an option. Instead, she opted to drink some tea (she found that it soothed her) and glare and Remy, who had decided that although he had loved baths his whole life, today was the day that he hated them and couldn't stay in the bath for more than 5 minutes, forcing Lizzie to chase him around her apartment threatening all kinds of unspeakable things that she was sure that animal protection agencies would be at her door in minutes if they had heard what she had been muttering.

"I apologize Mrs. De Bough." Lizzie gritted through her teeth. _Do not hit old people. Do not hit old people. It is socially unacceptable to hit old people. _

"Oh give her some slack Auntie." The friendly voice of the director said. "On time is on time." Fitz stood up and walked towards the group of girls that had assembled on stage. "Hello everybody. Glad everyone could make it. I apologize for forgetting to put up the instructions and schedule when I put up the call-back list." He shrugged sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Anyways, you will have 20 minutes to warm up, put make-up on, or whatever it is you need to get ready. After that, we will select randomly who goes. Good luck ladies."

Lizzie took a deep breath, trying to quell the butterflies that were floating around in her stomach. A movement from the corner of her eye diverted her attention. The door of the theatre opened, and in strolled Darcy, as if he 1) weren't late and 2) owned the place and 3) as if he were the most attractive male on the planet in his dark wash jeans and tight black shirt stretching over his chest. (Lizzie may have exaggerated the last part)

Shaking her head free of all thoughts of the egotistical prick, she quickly found secluded corner where she could warm-up and not be bothered. She ran through her regular warm-up routine, consisting of breathing exercises, tongue rolls, and scales. She hopped around, loosened up, and stretched. It was something that she had always done during her track days, and she felt that the stretching helped her relax. Lizzie reached for her water bottle, took a deep swig of it and sighed.

"AHHH!" Lizzie screamed as she turned around to find Darcy standing in front of her

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Is this your way of trying to keep me from auditioning?" Lizzie asked, her breath still coming out in pants. Her heart, beating erratically in her chest, refused to settle down even minutes after Darcy muttered an apology. Lizzie refused to explore reasons as to why her heart couldn't slowdown in the proximity of William Darcy.

"Good luck Miss Bennett." He said gruffly.

"Uhh… thanks?" Lizzie said, not exactly sure what to do with the situation.

"Oh William!" A loud, nasally voice called out from the middle of the theatre. This extremely annoying voice belonged to that of Victoria Simon, the curly redhead that had an ego that matched the size of her extremely large hair. Lizzie turned away; sure that Darcy was going to leave her to talk to the redhead, only the cringe when she heard her voice coming closer. "OH DAHLING, it's been too long." The redhead exclaimed, drawing out the 'ah' as if it made her seem more classy.

_If she wanted to seem classier, putting on clothes that didn't belong to a 10 year old would be a good start. _Lizzie thought as she took in the tiny skirt and top that Victoria was wearing, paired with Ugg boots.

Lizzie was still considering how on earth that this skankalicious eska-hoe standing close to her and Darcy managed to wear practically nothing in the middle of November in New York that she almost missed what Darcy had muttered. "Not long enough." His smooth voice said quietly, causing Lizzie to snort unattractively.

The redhead's head snapped towards Lizzie, her eyes glaring daggers at her. "And who is your… little friend, Darcy?"

Before Darcy could say anything, Lizzie interjected on her behalf. "Hi, I'm Lizzie. Nice to meet you Sasquatch." She smiled sweetly.

"Oh, how cute." Victoria squealed as she petted her head. Lizzie almost growled. _I am not a dog_. "Are you trying out for this musical? I'm sure they have plenty of _supporting_ parts."

"I believe, Miss Simon," Lizzie snickered at the standoffish attitude Darcy had adopted towards Victoria. "since Elizabeth's name is on the callback sheet, that she is auditioning for the lead role. Surely you don't think that you were the only one they were considering to put as the lead?"

"Oh William! I forgot how funny you are. Surely you don't think that this little girl would be able to be such a _deep_ and _complicated _character?" She drawled out.

Lizzie scowled. She was standing right next to her for heaven's sakes. If it wasn't blatantly obvious with her choice of clothing (or lack thereof), this woman had no class. _Complicated? That's a big word. Now does the skank know what it means? _

"Excuse me?" The redhead scoffed.

_Shit I said that aloud, didn't I? _

"Alright Miss Simon, I think it's time for you to go back and practice." Darcy interjected, ending the impending argument that Lizzie was ready to win. The skank, which is what Lizzie called her when she was talking about her in her head, scoffed, turned around, and stomped off in the opposite direction, still managing to sway her hips as she walked off.

"She walks like a duck." Lizzie commented, merely to herself.

"Now that's an insult to the duck."

Lizzie snorted with laughter at the unexpected joke.

"Well, good luck Elizabeth." He said, being pushing off the wall that he had been leaning on and walking back towards the table of judges, leaving Lizzie to her own devices.

It was only when Fitz had called the room to order and announced the order of the auditions that she realized that she had called her 'Elizabeth,' a name that she had hated all her life, although now, she couldn't help but admit she quite liked it coming from the mysterious, sometimes rude, but always attractive William Darcy.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

**A/N: Sorry guys, no audition this chapter. But next chapter. I PROMISE. (hopefully.) **

**As usual, please review! I'd love to hear from you! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"First up, we have Elizabeth Bennett" Mrs. De Bough's high-pitched voice called out. If Lizzie hadn't been so nervous, she would've rolled her eyes. She slowly climbed up the stairs to the stage, staring at her feet as she told herself to just put one foot ahead of the other. As she walked across the stage, all her insecurities seemed to hit her. She heard her mother's constant biting comments towards her career choice and her little sisters' seemingly innocent comments on her perpetual single status. The multiple cracks that her memories put in her self-esteem almost knocked her off her feet, and she could feel the panic tightening up her throat.

"Can she walk any slower?" One of the girls snickered in the audience. It was probably that bitch, Victoria.

When she made it up to the center of the stage, Lizzie took a deep breath to ground herself. This was it and she wasn't going to screw this up. She thought of her dad who always supported her no matter what, and dear Janie who was always her biggest fan, to the years of music lessons and the hard work it took to get here. She looked down at her shaking hands and balled them into fists and put them at her side and looked up at the judges' table consisting of Mrs. De Bitch, Fitz, and Darcy.

"I'd like to change my audition song."

DARCY POV

"What?" My aunt's outraged voice burst out. "Who does she think she is? Kristen Chenoweth? She can't just ask to change her song! The orchestra is here already and they've got first song choice down. We haven't got all day!"

"Go ahead Miss Bennett." Fitz smiled pleasantly while leaning over the table and putting his chin in his hand. He seemed perfectly at ease even though their aunt two seats over looked like she was going to have a conniption. Darcy definitely did not feel safe as the buffer in between his cousin and his psycho aunt.

Darcy rolled his eyes as he turned back and looked back at the stage. The stage crew had rolled the piano out from the side of the stage to the front. "Looks like she doesn't need the orchestra anymore" Will murmured to himself, only to be on the receiving end of an icy glare from his aunt.

"This is completely unprofessional." She muttered loudly, scratching it quickly onto the sheet in front of her. "I can't believe you gave this chit a callback. I wanted the other girl, but no, we had to have the unprofessional, plain girl."

"Shush Auntie." Fitz dared to say, receiving another icy glare from their favorite aunt, which was tactfully ignored.

Will watched intently as Elizabeth sat down on the bench, stretched her fingers and arms, took a deep breath and started playing the beginning chords of the song.

_My momma bought it second hand from a silent movie star_

_It was out of tune but still I learned to play_

_And with each note we both would smile, forgetting who we are_

_And all the pain would simply fly away_

_Something secondhand and broken still can make a pretty sound_

_Even if it doesn't have a place to live_

_Oooh the words were left unspoken when my momma came around_

_But that secondhand white baby grand still had something beautiful to give_

_Through missing keys and broken strings the music was our own_

_Until the day we said our last goodbyes_

_The baby grand was sent away, a child all alone_

_To pray somebody else would realize_

_That something secondhand and broken still can make a pretty sound_

_Even if it doesn't have a place to live_

_Ooh the words are still unspoken now that momma's not around_

_But that secondhand white baby grand still has something beautiful to give. _

She had a faraway look on her face as she sang, and Darcy ached to know what it was she was thinking about. Her eyes were the first thing that captivated him and at this moment it seemed like her eyes were swirling and shining, even from far away. And the smile that came on her face when the orchestra caught on and started playing along with her? He was _breathless_. This was Satine.

Before he knew it and way too soon, Elizabeth finished singing, looked up at the looks of shock within the audience, stood up, made eye contact with Darcy (did his heart just sputter then? What is he, a girl?), blushed, and curtseyed as if she were at a curtain call. The confidence and utter happiness on her face once again made the room a little harder to breathe.

Either that or Will was having an asthma attack. Perhaps he should go check it out. This couldn't be normal, healthy, behavior. Or maybe the building was a bit drafty. After all, it hadn't been used in a while and he was sure the cleaners weren't very thorough with ensuring the theatre was clean. Yes, Darcy was sure it was just the dust in the air.

ELIZABETH POV

Lizzie smiled widely as she curtseyed deeply on the stage. If she wasn't going to get this part, then she would at least imagine that this was her stage, the audience was full of people watching her perform, and she just had the performance of a lifetime in a Broadway musical as the lead and was bowing down for curtain call. There really was no other feeling more exhilarating than being on that stage. Lizzie could only hope that she'd be able to do it again sometime in her career.

She looked up from her curtsey at the judges, making eye contact first with the director, who was smiling widely and nodding as he made notes, Mrs. DeBough, who just looked constipated as per usual, and Darcy, how looked like he was starting to turn a startling shade of purple. She shook her head slightly as she walked down the stairs from the stage. Maybe it's for the better if she didn't get the part, since she wouldn't have to work with such a strange group of people for this production.

She ignored the harpy girls sitting in front of the stage, especially the Ginger Sasquatch who was currently smacking her gum and glaring daggers at her, as if it were going to scare her.

_Please_. Lizzie thought. _My dog has scarier faces than that. And the only chance Remy will ever be a guard dog is if licking someone to death were possible._

One of the girls, a blonde who kind have reminded Lizzie of her sister, smiled and nodded as her as if to say "good job." Here's hoping if Lizzie didn't get the job, she'd get it before Redfoot got it.

Being the first one done had its perks. While it sucked not knowing how good her competition was beforehand, she was able to relax while watching the other girls. In her usual ladylike manner, she threw her legs up over the seat in front of her, spread them out, and slouched as deeply as she could in the chair. If she had to listen to the Crimson Horror sing, she'd better get damn comfortable.

And sing, she did. A lot. And quite loudly. So loud and over the top that Lizzie's rings were still ringing after leaving the auditorium. She cursed as she banged the side of her head with her hand, trying to get her hearing back to normal as she walked along the street towards her car. While she thought Vicky the icky's voice was shrill, it paled in comparison to her singing voice.

Lizzie looked at her screen when her phone buzzed in her hand as she was getting settled in her car.

_Lizbear! How u do in ur audition? Gimme the deets plz Im dying – W_

She rolled her eyes. Typical exaggeration. Before she could reply, her phone went off again.

_Bitch why wont u answer my text? – W_

_Srsly. Im about to have a BF – W_

_R u dead? – W_

_Srsly I hope ur not dead bc I'd have 2 avenge u and I just got a mani – W_

Lizzie snorted. She never should've agreed to watch _White Chicks_ with him. Ever since he would use the word BF in short of "bitch fit," like the complete diva he is.

_Just finished! Meet you in the coffee shop in 10? – L_

_U betta! Kisses xo – W_

_See you soon – L_

As she stepped out of her car at the café and waved at her energetic and flamboyant friend, her phone started ringing again and she glanced down at the phone held firmly in her hand, her eyes widening at the familiar number, almost dropping it into the nasty puddle on the sidewalk.

It was Broadway calling.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Checked with my imaginary publisher. He notified me that I don't owe P&P. Damn.**

**AN: here's chapter 5! I had a blast writing this chapter! The next one you'll see their first performance together, so sit tight! Hope y'all enjoy, and as always, read and review to show some love to your review starved author!**

**Chapter 5:**

"I vote for Miss Victoria." Mrs. DeBough said the minute all the performances were over and the candidates all left the building. "She's obviously had a wonderful music teacher and we won't even have to dye her hair!" Darcy rolled his eyes. His aunt was only here because she was helping to finance the project. She didn't have a lick of musical background and yet she spoke as if she had been born and raised in the theatre.

"Yea, because she dyes her hair herself! Did you see the roots on her head? Atrocious!" Fitz dramatically flailed about.

"Honestly, I'd have to say that Miss Simon would be the very _last_ on my list." Will said dryly.

"I hate to be harsh, but I do agree with dear old cousin Willy here." Fitz replied cheerfully, throwing an arm around Will's shoulder who immediately pushed it off, causing Fitz's smiling face to morph into what could only described as a childish pout. Cute on a child, a bit disconcerting on a 35-year-old man.

"Really?" Their aunt exclaimed dramatically. "Even before that horrid brunette girl? The one that dared to change her song?"

"Actually, Elizabeth was quite good." Darcy muttered without thinking. He looked around when the room went silent as his aunt gaped at him like a dying goldfish (emphasis on dying) and Fitz looked at him gleefully. "What?" Darcy growled, uncomfortable.

"That is the first compliment I have ever heard come out of your mouth about a fellow performer." Fitz said, wiping a mock tear out of the side of his eye. "I'm so proud of you Willy!"

Darcy rolled his eyes trying to hide the fact that he, William Darcy the Second, was blushing. "I'm merely saying that she didn't over sing like Miss Simon and wasn't too meek like the ones that didn't over sing."

"I quite agree with Darcy." Fitz said, choosing to ignore his cousin's obvious attachment to Miss Bennett and saving it for a later time where they were not accompanied by their harpy aunt.

"How preposterous! You _both_ are saying that she is the only one who could play Satine? With no arguments?" Their Aunt DeBough gasped. When both of them nodded, Darcy quite seriously and Fitz nodding energetically and emphatically, the blood on her cheeks rose to make her look like somewhat of a tomato.

"But she has no training! Can she even dance? She's woefully inexperienced. Can she even take the pressure? What if she quits? What if she turns to drugs? Have you even looked at her background? Her credentials? Her family history? She could have a history of alcoholism; she looks like the type." She rambled.

"Actually," Fitz interrupted, "I know for a fact that she can indeed dance. I saw her perform when she was still in school."

Both Darcy and their aunt stopped and stared at Fitz in shock upon hearing this.

"I had been invited to an open house by her teacher, Professor Gardiner, a dear friend of mine. She said there was a student that I just _had_ to see. She was magnificent, really, even in high school. However, her professor had expressed that Miss Bennett wished to finish her schooling first and didn't wish to be whisked away to Broadway so soon, so I didn't speak to her. Still, I kept her name at the back of my head. When I was looking for a lead for my last musical, I actually looked into Miss Bennett, only to find that she was already in an off-Broadway production and wouldn't be available."

It dawned on Darcy of why Fitz seemed so eager to see Elizabeth perform every time. Fitz _knew_ she was good enough to be Satine already; he just needed everyone else to see that.

"And thankfully, since Darcy agrees with me, it is apparent that I was not crazy when I first saw talent in her." He finished, looking quite proud of himself. If he had been a toddler, Darcy knew he would've patted himself on the back, or given himself a high five.

"Well Fitzwilliam," Fitz cringed at the use of his name, "while _you _have seen Miss Bennett dance and perform, we have yet to see it. So if she truly is as good as you believe she is, it won't hurt to have her come in and sing a duet with Darcy, isn't that right?" She sneered, looking at Darcy for support, who sat straight up at the thought of performing with Elizabeth. When Darcy didn't say anything in support or against what she had said, she continued. "Besides, even if she is a good performer, what if Darcy can't perform with her? There needs to be chemistry between them. We can't afford to have our show fall flat because the two leads aren't attracted to each other."

Fitz mulled it over. "I agree Auntie." He replied, shocking Mrs. Debough. "Let's have her come back in a week's time. I'll send her over the sheet music for all the songs in the show and we'll tell her which one to perform the day of. That way we'll see her act, sing, and dance with Willy. Is that okay with you two?"

Once again, Darcy merely nodded, unwilling to admit himself that he was curious as to how Elizabeth's stage presence was going to be like.

Their aunt scoffed. "Well if we're going to have her come back, then _I _get to pick someone as well. You both already picked Miss Bennett, therefore I get to choose the runner-up." Before either of them could argue, she shot them a glare that almost froze the blood in their veins, before continuing "and if you don't agree, then I'll simply pull the funding." She said nonchalantly.

"You can't do that! We've spent months putting this production together and you've already spent so much money on it. Don't be absurd." Darcy said, chastising his Aunt.

"I can and I will. Or at least I will suspend the funds on this show until you give in to my demands."

Darcy very nearly rolled his eyes at her childishness. If he could bet money on the person that she was going to pick, he would be a very rich man indeed. "If we let you pick, then we still have majority rules for the lead. If Fitz and I overrule you, then you cannot put up a fight. After all, your name is already on this production and if word gets out that _you _were the one that was being unreasonable, what would that say about your reputation?"

"Very well." She sniffed, unable to argue with his thinly veiled threat. "I have full confidence that you two will see the error of your ways. I also demand that my daughter be here as a judge as well. Her eye for talent is even better than mine, if possible. I'm sure she'll be able to talk some sense into you two since I am apparently incapable of doing so."

"That's settled then!" Fitz jumped in now that Darcy had settled all the confrontation and the uncomfortable-ness of the situation. "Who is your pick?"

"Well, Victoria, of course. Once she gets on stage, you'll understand. The chemistry between you and her will be amazing. I just know it. And her training is so traditional! It will be such a pleasure to finally have some traditional theatre back on Broadway." Mrs. Debough nodded, convinced that once that nasty Miss Bennett got on stage, her favored nephew would not have an ounce of attraction for the young girl and their relationship on stage would just fall flat.

Darcy very gagged at the thought of looking into her eyes and pretending to be in love. He didn't think he had the acting ability to do such a thing.

Fitz, on the other hand, gleefully chuckled to himself. Chemistry between the Darcy and the lovely Miss Bennett, especially from Darcy to Miss Bennett, was _definitely_ not going to be an issue.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"H-h-hello?" Lizzie hesitantly talked into her phone as she stood in front of her table, unable to even remember to sit down as her confused friend stared at her.

"Um yes. Is this Miss Bennett?"

"Yes, this is she." She said, her voice still shaking as she slowly lowered herself down into her seat, ignoring her friend who was gesturing wildly at her, trying to get information.

"Wonderful! This is Director Fitzwilliam. But you can just call me Fitz. Everyone does."

"Umm… hi Fitz?" She said, not sure how to continue.

"Well, I know that this must come as shock, but we are very eager to move quickly through the audition process since we are on a timeline and it has already been delayed by the late –ahem- choice for Satine. I know this wasn't elaborated on during the audition but we would like to have you come back for another callback, where you will be expected to sing a duet with Darcy – you know Darcy right? Tall fellow? Brooding? Miserable-looking? Yea that's the fellow. – And learn some choreography to go with it. At the end of the afternoon, you will perform what you've learned and we will judge between you and the other girl."

Lizzie stared at her friend, eyes wide open and mouth agape as she struggled to summon up the brainpower to say words.

"Miss Bennett? Elizabeth? Are you still there?"

"Oh! Um yes! I am! Thank you so much for this opportunity!" She rambled on, her brain sputtering along, unable to form complex sentences.

"Wonderful! The audition will be this Saturday starting at 9 AM, so it gives you a couple days to rest and prepare yourself. We look forward to seeing you there!" He said cheerfully, before hanging up.

Lizzie slowly took her phone away from her ear and stared at the black screen in awe.

"BITCH, are you going to tell me what the HELL is going on or am I going to have to shake you?"

"Sorry George. I think I just got another callback for the part of Satine on Broadway!" She said in amazement, looking up slowly at her friend.

"Oh. My. GOD! My best friend is going to be a Broadway star!" He erupted in screams and squeals as he scooped her up from her seat and hugged her, swinging her legs from side to side, getting the attention of many alarmed patrons.

"WICKHAM." His manager said as he stormed over here. "I understand that you are on break but if you don't calm and quiet down, I _will _kick you out and have someone take over your shift."

"Uhh excuse me. My BFF is about to be a Broadway star. I think it warrants some celebration. Am I right, girlfriend?" He looked over at the slightly ruffled Lizzie, who would've scolded her gay best friend for bear hugging her again, but the prospect of being so close to her dream was at the forefront of her mind.

"I haven't gotten the part yet, G." She said, smacking him lightly.

"Gurl, have you heard yourself sing and seen yourself dance? If they don't pick you, then they be crazy. Hell, if they don't pick you, I will march my fabulous ass in there and give them a piece of my mind. Unless one of them is hot. Then all bets are off." He quickly turned his full attention to Lizzie, his manager apparently dismissed. "So tell me about the male lead. Is he delicious?" He asked, his lips pursed and his left eyebrow lifted scandalously.

"Wha… what?! No! He'd be my coworker! I can't date a coworker! Plus he's an absolute asshole. Don't even get me started." She exclaimed defensively.

"Liz, I said nothing about dating! You've got the hots for him! What's his name? I gotta look him up. You know you can't date him unless he gets my approval" George said as he pulled out his bedazzled iPhone.

"NO! Don't look him up! Are you crazy?"

"Fine I'll just Google it. Age of information, child! You can't stop me from stalking your little boy toy… oh hot damn! That is some serious eye candy." George said as he stared intently at his screen, zooming into the picture. He looked up quickly and suddenly. "You sure he doesn't bat for the other team?"

"I don't know!" She yelled a little too loudly, getting the attention once again of the coffee shop.

"Girl, I am so jealous. You have to stare at that face everyday? Woooo." He said has he fanned himself with his napkin.

"You have no idea…" Lizzie muttered to herself.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The days leading up to the last callback, Lizzie was a ball of nerves, and everyone around her was feeling it.

"Lizzie, if you don't stop drumming your fingers and shaking your leg I will cut off all your appendages." Her roommate and best friend, Charlotte, threatened around noon after she had woken up hung over after a night of drinking with her tool of a boyfriend, Collin. Lizzie had stopped making her opinions of Charlotte's boyfriend known a week of telling her how creepy the guy was and how he tried to talk her up at the bar after they had gone to celebrate getting a callback. Thankfully, this time she had the audition as an excuse to duck out of spending time with Charlotte and the sniveling Collin.

"How was your night with the boyfriend?" Lizzie asked, controlling her tone and managing to not spit out the word boyfriend.

"I honestly don't remember a thing." Charlotte said as she choked down some coffee.

"Charlotte, I don't understand why you hang out with Collin when all you ever do with him is get blackout drunk and you don't remember anything the next morning. Isn't the point of dating someone to spend quality, mostly _sober_ time with the person?"

"Can we not have this conversation right now, again? Could we save it for another time when brain isn't trying to beat itself out of my skull?" She groaned, too tired to argue. Charlotte didn't want to admit it, but it was getting harder and harder to convince herself that jumping into this relationship after only meeting him less than a week ago. Alas, with her hangover of the century, this problem would have to be addressed at a later time… a _much _later time.

"So, are you ready for your callback tomorrow?" She asked as she mindlessly petted Remy, who was, like his owner, a ball of anxious energy, as if he were feeding off of it. One moment he would run around the room, the next he would lay his head in Charlotte's or Lizzie's lap. _Damn dog_.

"Yea, there's not a lot that I can do to prepare for it, you know? I've been practicing my dancing using old routines that I've learned and singing the songs, but I'll really have no idea how it's going to go until I get there. They're picking the song and teaching me the choreography so I can really do show up and hope for the best."

"Oh shut up, Lizzie. You've worked your ass off for this. You know you're ready."

"I can only hope so…" She said softly, her leg starting to bounce again, only to be brought back to the present with a loud and painful slap to her thigh from Charlotte.

"I told you if you started doing that again, I would hurt you!"

Pretending to be wounded, Lizzie pointed accusingly to Charlotte and looked at Remy. "Look at what she did to your poor owner. Attack her Remy!"

And attack her, he did. Remy leapt up onto the couch and began to energetically lick Charlotte's face, causing her to squeal and try to push the large dog away from her. "Uncle! Uncle!" She cried out in surrender.

"Good dog." Lizzie muttered as she pet her dog on the back as he continued to attack her best friend. _Perhaps there was still hope for Remy in being a guard dog. _

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Get out of my way!" A shriek, high, and unfortunately familiar voice rang out as a large body shoved Lizzie out of the way as she stood in front of the door trying to summon the courage to open the door to the callback. "Oh it's you. What're you doing here?" An artificial and sickly sweet scent of bubble gum wafted its way towards Lizzie's nose, causing her to gag a little.

"Well, hello there, Victoria. Lovely seeing you here. How've you been, dahling?" Lizzie asked pleasantly, drawing out the ahhhh in darling.

"God, they'll let anyone into Broadway these days. Well enjoy how close you're getting to being on an actual show. This will be the closest you'll ever get. I'm sure they just felt sorry for you and called you back." She sneered as she turned back around and opened the door.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. If it was anyone else that had said that to her, she might have been offended, but coming from carrot head, it definitely didn't carry any weight.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, strolling into the studio. It was show time.

"Welcome, Miss Bennett and Miss Simon!" Fitz smiled with his arms wide open as the two ladies sat in the back of the room, across from the mirrored wall while the judges sat in front of them with their backs facing the wall. At the table sat the familiar Mrs. Debough, who looked just as constipated as usual, the brooding Darcy, who looked like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed (Lizzie was beginning to think he didn't have a right side), and an unfamiliar tiny brunette who somehow looked like the strict Mrs. Debough and yet still managing to look human and quite pretty.

"Please, call me Vicky." Purred the redhead sitting next to Lizzie.

Fitz coughed uncomfortably. "Yes, well I'm sure you both are aware of what goes on today. You both will be performing the duet, _Come What May_ with Darcy here. We're going to first give you the music, then I'll teach you both the choreography with one of our chorus dancers and then at the end of the day, you'll perform it with Darcy. Everyone clear?"

Lizzie nodded, determined. Of course they would pick one of the harder and more intimate songs. Vicky, on the other hand, was not looking too happy. Sure enough, the redhead had hoped for a slightly more seductive song to perform, especially with the low cute top that she had chosen for the day. Lizzie rolled her eyes at the impossibly shorter outfit that Victoria had chosen to don for the day. Lizzie herself had worn some well-loved leggings, a flowy skirt and a loose top, paired with her favorite pair of dancing heels. Not only was it practical, it would give her a good idea of how the choreography would feel in full costume, which also wasn't necessary at this early on in production and at the audition no less, but Lizzie wanted to get a feel of how intensive the performance was going to be.

First up was Choreography. Both she and Victoria were taught by Fitz with two chorus dancers on who to do the choreography between Satine and Christian while the judges sat and stared at them the whole time. While it was unnerving at first, Lizzie quickly immersed herself into it. She was more of a contemporary dancer herself, and so the song and the show could not have been more perfect for her tastes.

"Miss Simon, how about a little less hip motion?" Fitz suggested with a smile on his face as he stopped them once again. God bless that man for having the patience to deal with her. She couldn't even imagine how her dance partner must feel being paired up with her. When Lizzie looked over to her own partner, Jeremy, they both burst out in soft laughter. Jeremy was about 5 foot 11 and had one of those classic All-American looks with blonde hair, blue eyes, and the most adorable dimples she'd ever seen. From what Lizzie had gathered from the first hour they had been working together, he was very sweet, a bit quiet, and was a very talented dancer. This was his first big gig. She felt like he was a bit of a kindred spirit. His parents didn't quite agree with his career choice, but he worked hard and persevered and had landed a big opening Broadway show.

"Let's start from the top again!" Fitz said, his voice still impossibly cheerful.

"Shall we?" Jeremy smiled down at Lizzie, who smiled back and nodded slightly, getting back into position. This was going to be a long day.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Darcy POV:

_I'm going to fire that chorus dancer the first moment I get. _ Darcy thought as he stared broodingly at the pair.

"So unprofessional." He muttered threateningly, piquing the interest of one Mrs. Debough.

"Ah. You finally agree with me, nephew." She said. "She is quite unprofessional. Look at the way she is throwing herself at that backup dancer. The nerve of her! I knew we shouldn't have asked her to come."

Darcy looked over at his Aunt, confused. "Who?"

"Why, Miss Bennett of course! I told you two that she was trouble, but no! Now you've wasted all our time watching them dance while the choice for Satine has been in front of us this whole time."

"Actually, mother. I think Miss Bennett is quite good. It's the song. She has to act like she's in love with him. And Jeremy, the chorus dancer is fantastic. He really gets into the music. They look like quite the pair." Her daughter, Anna, said as she stared, mesmerized by the two dancers dancing together on right, reluctantly looking over to the other pair as they struggled to mesh together. Darcy's mood darkened at the mention of the two of them as a couple.

"Well you just can't tell that Miss Simon is the better one because _her _dancer is just not good enough! Is there any way we can get her a new one? It is obvious that he isn't experienced enough to dance in this production." She cried out.

"Actually, mother, Chase's technique is flawless. There are cases where dancers just don't come together because their styles are too different. I'm sure once Darcy comes in at the end, we'll be able to see who's the better dancer." Anna replied, skillfully appeasing her crazy mother but also taking a stand. As a professional dancer herself, she had spent years deflecting her mother's criticism and diminishing her wrath. In this, she was much like Fitz. She was an endless pool of patience.

Darcy merely nodded in agreement, unable to summon the energy to argue with his crazy Aunt, once again returning his stare to the dancers in the room.

Little did he know, his cousin and friend, Fitz, had been watching his cousin the entire time, and had gleefully seen the death glare he was sending to Jeremy.

Oh, yes. This was going to be _quite_ an audition.

**AN: Clicky clicky the review button. Ya know ya wanna. **


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